1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image cropping and synthesizing method, and more particularly to a method of cropping an image and synthesizing the cropped image with a template. The present invention relates also to an imaging apparatus for the image cropping and synthesizing method.
2. Background Arts
An imaging system has been known in the art, wherein electronic images are taken out from different kinds of storage media, and are processed for correcting the image quality or for synthesizing with an optional template image, to print out hard copies of the electronic images. The imaging system consists of image input devices, a computer and a printer. As the image input devices, there are a reflective scanner that reads out electronic images from reflective originals, such as a photo-print printed on photographic paper and other kinds of printed matters printed on reflective recording material, a film scanner that reads out electronic images from negative or positive film, and a card reader that reads out digital image data from a storage card. The digital image data is picked up through an electronic still camera or digital camera. The computer processes the image data from the image input device, and the printer prints out hard copies based on the processed image data.
The conventional imaging system is provided with templates for ID photographs that are used for driver's licenses, passports, and many other kinds of identification papers and license papers. Since the format and the requisite number of copies of an identical ID photograph vary depending upon what kind of identification paper the portrait is needed for, different kinds of templates are prepared for different kinds of ID papers in the imaging system. Thereby, the requisite number of copies of the same ID photograph may be printed on a sheet of recording paper in the designated format just by synthesizing the input image with an appropriate one of the prepared template. Among the different kinds of ID photographs, that for the passport is most strictly designated in format: not only the sheet size of each ID photograph is designated, but also the position and the size of the human face are designated relative to the four sides of each ID photograph.
In the conventional imaging system, a crop boundary is displayed on a monitor with an image to be used for the ID photograph, such that the size of the crop boundary is changeable within the image, for bounding an area of the image, designating the area to synthesize with a template. While observing the monitor, the operator reduces or enlarges the crop boundary, or displaces it relative to the image, to designate the area to synthesize. Accordingly, it requires some skill or several trial and error to synthesize the image with the template properly, and thus this operation has been time consuming.